Toilet-tank flush valve



J. (i. OWENS TOILET TANK FLUSH VALVE Sept 17, 1929.

Filed April 26, 1922 2 Shee'i-Shee'x .1

. Jfssf'C. OWE/V6.

Patented Sept. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES JESSE C. OWENS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA TOILET-TANK FLUSH VALVE Application filed April 26,

construction of the existing forms of flush- 1 ing valves; to provide a valve of the character referred to that may be easily and inexpensively manufactured and installed; to provide a construction wherein the pressure of the water from the source of supply, for instance the city water mains, is utilized for compressing air that is effective, when the valve is manually opened, in adding forceto the flushing waterthat discharges through the valve; further, to provide in a flush valve, a float that is utilized for normally closing the outlet from the valve; and further, to provide a flush valve that is strong and substantial in construction and having comparatively few operating parts, therebyminimizing the liability of the valve becoming inoperative and ineffective due to disarrangement of the parts.

Further objects of'my invention are, to provide a toilet tank flush valve that is practically silent in operation during the flushing action and during the refilling of the tank, further, to provide a device of the character referred to that is economic in the use of water and which is non-leaking when prop erly installed, and further, to provide a simple and efficient means including ducts and check valves for permitting air to enter the tank and valve to permit the water under pressure to readily discharge from the tank and pass thru the valve to effect the flushing action.

My present invention is an improvement on the pressure flushing device disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,566,769, issued to me December 22, 1925, and also my co-pending application for U. S. Letters Patent, filed July 16, 1926, Serial No. 122,815.

With the foregoing and other objects in 1928. Serial no. 273,120.

'view', my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts that will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which 1 is a verticalsectiontaken thru the central portion of a tank and showing my lmproved flush valve associated therewith.-

r Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the valve with the upper portion thereof in vertical section.

Fig. 3is an enlarged vertical section taken 'on'the line 3-3 of Fig.1..

Fig. 4 is a verticalsection taken lengthwise thru the center of the valve and showing the same in open or flushing position. v

Fig. 5 is .a. horizontal section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an. elevational view of a tank and bowl and showing my improved flush valve associated therewith.

' Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a practical embodiment of myinvention, 1O designates a tank that is adapted tocontain a substantial volume of flushing water, said tank being of air-tight construction and receiving its supply of water from a pipe 11 that is connected to a suitable source of supply,'for instance, the city mains, said supply pipe 11 leading to the bottom of the tank 10 and being connected in any suitable manner, to one leg of an inverted U-shaped pipe 12 that is positioned in the lower portion of tank 10 with its open end terminating near the bottom of said tank.

My improved flush valve includes a substantially L-shaped casting, the upright portion 13 of which occupies a position a short distance in front of the lower portion of tank 10, and projecting from the lower portion of the upright member 13, toward the tank 10, is a horizontally disposed, tubular member '1& that is connected by a suitable coupling 15, and short tube or nipple 16 to the lower front portion of tank 10.

The lower portion of upright member 13 of the valve is provided with a substantially cylindrical float chamber 17 and removably seated in the upper portion of this chamber is a ring 18 on the upper surface of which is formed a rib 19 that functions as a valve seat. The chamber 20 above ring 18 func-, tions as a valve chamber, and arranged to move vertically therein, is a disc valve 21 to the underside of which secured, in any suitable iaaaaerga ui sc sa or-taster; leather or composition, and whicli is adaptedjto' rest directly on the valve seat 19.

The top of valve clla'mbtir -2d is uetmty a screw cap 23 that is removably. positioned on the upper portion of thevalvebo'dy13,

and formed thru the centeryoflsaidecap is an opening that is provided with a gland 24 1311111 whichoperates anraxi-al-ly di-sposed stem 25;- that *proj ects upwardly from valve 21-.

Formed" on theunderside of; cap;l23-,---is-a concentric; rib '26 1-' that functions as a seat for a packing-disc 27, which latteuis secured any suitable, manner on, top of disc" 21.

' a resu-lt' oiithe construction -jnst described,

"the --j'oint between the stem 25 and @thegland 24 is efi'ectually packed by the engagement hi, the packing ,diSc.,' 27 i against thaseae 26 when valve 21'is elevated. a

is a relatively small,'ica1p..2'8 and jouiinaled therein, is; a horizontally ,disposed 2 9, ,oniiwh'ic'h isLfOrInedeccentric BOiithat FbearS 1 against the u pper end of stem25 -Oneend of shaft 20 projects th ru 'theaside wall of the cap '29," and carriddlby sai'd' prozjecting, end ,is. a handle 3li A- small torsion 'sprijngm32lis arranged on the projecting end of shaft'29-,and1hormally holds same witlrthe eccent ric, 1301B itsv low- 61711108131 position; thereby,..ho l ding,.stemi 25 at .its. lower, limit of, movement and with the packinggmember 122 on. the undersideiof {disc avalve'21Iupon 'seat'1Ql p l v For-med: ,integral with and extending downward i from ethe lower end ot th'e body seat 37. i

Arrangedto' move freelyswithinitheflfloat chamber 17 is a substantially cylindrical float 38 pro videfcll oneitswunderside -withra -pae ngris 3. hat a f rt o tat l 37,;and thereby close the opening-into tubular member 33. 1

flloncentrically arranged withinfthe' float isea well 39,;and arrangediin the lower? portion thereof, is a bushing 40 within which is formed a circumferential groove 41.

Pivotally mounted on a lug 42 that is ar ranged in the upper portion of tubular member 33, is the lower end of an arm 43 and said arm extends upwardly thru the bushing 40, and its upper end terminates in a head 44 which, when the float is elevated, is adapted to engage in the groove 41.

Formed integral with the lower portion of the arm 43, and extending downwardly into the opening thru tubular member 33, is an arm esganu formed integral with the lower end thereof, is an inclined plate 46 ormed thru the wall of the body 13 of the*"valve""is"avertically disposed duct, the upper endot which communicates with the valve chamber 20 above .ring 18 and the lower end ofith-is duct communicates with the 'opening thru'tubular member 33, just Formedintegral withrthe upper, sideof the, horizontally disposed ;Ine1nber.- 14-of the valve" body and with the;adjacent side of valve body 13,- is a-block 48- thru which is .forrried'a vertically disposed duct 49g and screw seated in the upper'portion of said duct, is acap -50= havinga depending -tubudampQrtion 51, and formed in--thelatter,

is an'aperturel52 ithat registers-witha shorta duct- 33" that extends upwardly thruthe wall of the? valve body ,13', and the upper; end of sja'id duct beii ng open tothe 'atmos'phere just :above cap: 50. r

ofQca-p 50 functions as a ;sea-t for 'a-small spherical check; valve 1 54; @whichis buoyant and said check valve being-loosely aimainged 'iirthe intermediate portion of a-duct49+and -be1ing; retained againstdownward movement therein by; 11W0r or? more; lugs 55'- that" pmoj ect into-the duct:4:9. o

Formed-lthru "theup'per 1361131011301 the horizontally disposed'memben 14-. Off thevalve body 1and-gcommunicating :with'the'lowerend r oi ducti 49; is a-vhorizontallyl disposed duct Y 56,- the inner: end ;of which communic'iat'es with a: tubular Inember 57, the same leading downwardly across; the-"inner portionoththe opening'thru member 1 14 and the*lower-- end of said: tubular member 57 communicating Witlra short duct :58 that communicates with v the openingF-thru tubularmembe'r :33. 1

Connected, to the :oppos'ite-endofthe duct ,Zontally thru the connection 16, a and thence upwar dl'yl in'tank 10,:and the upper portion of said tube is bent into, U-shape, asdesigf- .n-atedsbyr60 the depending-end'of said bent portion is provided with annipwardly seatingichecjliwalye- 131: it

Under normal 4 conditions,-'- water that enter's thr-u' suppllynpip'e 11 and the geoseneek 12, rises in tanlrlqto a-leveli wh'ere it'en- Thelowerend {of thetubularportion 51 gagesifcheckfivalve 61- andi'orces the-jsame 1 onto its seat, thereby closing the air passage thru tube 59, ducts 56, 57 and 58, and the water within the tank'under pressure, compresses, to a certain degree, air that is trapped inithe upper portionof the tank above the level of the water.

engaged and swung into a substantially up right position, thereby permitting valve 21 to rise as a result of pressure of the water against its underface, and as the valve is thus lifted from its seat, the pressure of the water trapped in tank 10 and the valve housing, will be lowered so' as to permit float 38 to rise in float chamber 17, thereby opening the upper end of outlet 33, which permits water from tank 10 and in the connection 16 and 14, to flow downwardly thru outlet 33, which flow is greatly accelerated by the pressure, of the air trapped in tank 10 above the body of water therein.

Any water that passes upwardly thru ring 18 into valve chamber 20 will, in due time, discharge, downwardly thru duct 47,

intooutlet 33. As float 38 is, elevated in its chamber, the force of water passing downwardly thru outlet 33 will bear against the upper face of inclined plate 46-so as to move the same downwardly and rearwardly, thereby swinging the upper end of arm 43 so that the head 44 thereon engages in groove 41 in the bushing 40, and thus the float is maintainedin elevated position while the water from tank 10 is discharging thru the valve and the outlet 33.

After the water has discharged thru the valve, as just described, the weight of the float.38 will effect a disengagement of the head 44 from the groove 41, and the float will move downwardly until the packing disc 39 is positioned on seat 37.

After pressure on the handle 31 is releaed, spring 32 will rotate shaft 29 so as to cause cam 30 to engage and move stern 25fdownwardly, thereby reseating the packing mem the seat 19. v j

If, when valve 21 is actuated to effect the flushing operation, as just described, there should be anywater forced past check valve 61- and thru pipe 59 and duct. 60, said water willstrike float check valve 54, and force the same upwardly against its seat on, the lower end of tubular member '51, thereby preventconnected to said inlet opening,

ing said water from passing outwardly thru air inlet duct 53, and thus any water passing thru tube 59 and duct56 will be caused to pass out thru ducts 57 and 58 that lead to the outlet 33. I

-When the valve is actuated, as just described, and the level of the body of water lowers within tank 10, a short distance, valve 61 will leave its seat, thereby permitting air to-enter duct 53 and pass downwardly thru duct 49, thence thru duct 56, and tube 59, so

as to break the seal in the upper portion of tank 10. and consequently, permitting the water to freely and quickly discharge there- "from.

In some instances, it may be found advantageous and desirable to utilize in the place of the tank 10, a vertically disposed pipe or likecontainer that is arranged in the wall to the rear of the bowl with which my improved flush valve is associated.

Thus, it will be seen that I have provided a toilet tank flush valve that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, capable of being readily assembled and installed, and which valve is especially effective, due to' the fact that air that is trappedinthe upper portion of the water storage tank is 'utilized for accelerating the flushing operation when the valve is opened.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved toilet tank flush valve may be made and substituted for those herein shown anddescribed without depart ing from the spirit of my invention, the

scope of which is set forth in the appended claims. 0

I claim as my invention:

1. In a toilet tank flush valve, a housing having afloat chamber, said chamber having an inlet opening and outlet opening, a float arranged within said chamber for normally closing said outlet opening, said float having a chamber, a pivoted detent projecting into said chamber and adapted to be actuated by the flow of water from the tank and through the flush valve for engaging the float within its chamber and holding said float elevated within the float chamber, a tank a tank adapted to contain water under pressure,

manually operable means for relieving the pressure of thewater within said float cham her and tank, and means for admitting at- I mospheric air to said tank. .ber 22 on the underside of valve 21 upon 2: In a toilet tank flush valve,1a housing having a float chamber, said chamber having an inlet opening and outlet opening, a float arranged within said chamber for normally closing said outlet opening, a tank connected to said'inlet opening, a tank adapted to contain water under, pressure, manually operable Ineans for relieving the pressure of the water within said float chamber and tank,

self-acting-,- releasable means adapted to (be actuated by, the flow \oLW-a-ter, iromwtank and flushivailve' for engaging gand; holding the float ,rinrielevatedg aposition twithin .i the chamber.

a 3.-II-n a flush valve, a. housing having, afloat chamber, said chambelrehaving inlet and outlet, openings, a float (arranged? Within. said floatachamber fora norm-ally closing said .out-

let :opening' a manually, operable .valveenormall y ,closing the upper; :end; oi? the float -chamber, aad-uct for carryingl fl' water that passes thnumth'e openi-ngat, the .-.upper' end outlet openings a-float arranged Within said ofithefioatrchamber', andaself acting releasable means adapted to be actuated by, the

. WtLtQlh discharging fromi the.) 'floatchamber (for maintaining the float-in elevated posi-tion.

4,1111 a zflushiivalveya housing having a float ichambea said chamben havinginlet and -outletiopenings, i a ifio at anranged ivvithiina said float chamber-' fen'normallyclosingsaid outlet opening; a manually; operable valve nor mally-{ \closing, thei.uppen end oi the float chamber, a; :duet: for carrying off- Waterthat *passesithru Ythe opening g'at the .uppen end of the float chambeity self-acting; releasable means? adaptedwtonbeactuated/by theiwater discharging, from the r float chamben-r for maintainingmhe @floattin; releva/tedposition; a tankconneeted totthe. inletlopei i-nguinto the floatmhamber, and an ,.air .inlet duct-:leading fiomgthe exterior! of. the valvesto i-said tank, which duct. includes a check? valve, I

5 In; a flusha valve, i a; housinghaving a floatlcha-mben, saidchambenhaving. inletiand floatichamber zfom normallyclosing said 1 outlet opening, a manually operable valve inor mally closing the fluppenzend of theifloat chamher, alduct for. icaiznying oil' water that passes: thru the :openinggati the upper: end of tlfe flo ati'chamber, self actingfl releasable means adapted to be, actuated the .Water disehargii ng fiom thelfloat" chamber for engaging andfinaintainingthe float in elevated iosition, a, tank connected to" the inletope'ning intotheflo'ae chamber, an air inlet duct leadingii'om. the, exterior iofnthe. valve. to

, said tank, hich'ductincludes acheck valve,

and a brancli' duct leading from Said air inlet duct to the. outlet fiiom the. float chamber. atfapoi-nt below the, same.

6." In toilet tank, flush ivalve, a housing having a float chamber, said chamber having inlet andbutl'et openinga a float, within said chamber for normally, closing said outlet opening, and means; actuated by the flow of Water thiu} said outlet "opening for engaging and, holding the, float in elevated position during thepassage of water. thi u" the float ambe h c j ldingme'a s. tom t callyf'released "fiiom its" engagement with the fitifat bythwgziglitbfthe latter at the termir na ibn ofthi 1 5W ofiwater through h 7 .In a toilet: tank flushavalve a housing gprov-ided with; a float chamberausaid chamber having. inlet and outlet openings, .af ifloat for normally, closing. the outlet opening, from said chamber, a detent.pivotallyYinounted in the valve below the float :and adapted to, be actuatedby; the new of. Water. through the valve. for v V engaging. and holding. the 4 float elevated, ,which detent is automatically, re-

leased fromits' engagement with the float by the vveight ofthe latter atitheitermination ofilthe flow. of iwaterhthrough, the valve, an lair-tight tank, connected, to, the, inlet opening of, said. float chamber, means for supplyingvvatenunden pressure. to ,said' tank and. float. chamber, and a manually operable valve normally closing and opening ati the upper end. ofthe,floatichamber n v 8. In a toiletitankflflu'sh valve, aihou$ing provided With; a ,floatichlilmber, said chamber having inlet and outlet, openings, at float 'for i normally, closing. .the. outlet ,opening from said chamber, a detentpiviotally mounted in the valve below thefleat, andradaptedtoibe actuated by the flow of Lwaten through the valve for engaging and holding the e 1 float elevated, which detentj isgautomat icallylre leased from its engagement withl theifloat by 1 the. W igh of helat en t, the termmatioh of the flow of Water thjitough the valve, airtijght tank connected to the inlet opening of said float chamber,-; means for, supplying water under pressure to said tank, and float chamb a .m n ly'., pe b1'e. valve 1 or.- mall'y closing and "opening, at, the, upper end :of thefioatlchamber, and. pressure, outlet c g,,f jom he interior of the; lionsingabove thf float. chamber therein.

ii toilet tank flushv lv arhouesing provided vvith' a float chamber, said chamber havingdnlet'and outlet'openings, a float for normally closiIigvthe out-letopening from said chamber, an'air-tighttanli connected to the inlet opening, of] said flOatvchamber, a detent pivotajlly'rnounted in the valve below the float and adapted "m be. actuated by theflow of water throughthevalv'e forengaging andjholdihg the. float elevated, which detent is automatically releasedj from its engagement. withliithe float the Weight of the .latter atthe termination of the flow of nected to the inlet opening from said float chamber, means for supplying Water under pressure to said tank, and float chamber, a manually operable valve normally closing and opening at the upper end of the float chamber, a pressure outlet duct leading from the interior of the housing above the float chamber therein, a Water pressure tank connected to the inlet opening of the float chamber, and means including a check valve for permitting air to enter the pressure tank when the pressure therein drops to atmospheric pressure.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JESSE O; OWENS; 

